Brené Brown

Casandra Brené Brown is an American research professor, author, and speaker. She was born in 1965 and is the eldest of four children. Her family lives in New Orleans, Louisiana, she is married, has two children and resides in Houston, Texas. Brown completed a Bachelor of Social Work degree at the University of Texas at Austin in 1995, a Master of Social Work degree in 1996, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in social work at the University of Houston Graduate School of Social Work in 2002. She holds the Huffington Foundation Endowed Chair at the University of Houston, and is a visiting professor in management at the McCombs School of Business in the University of Texas at Austin.

Brown is known for her ground-breaking work on human connection, courage, empathy, shame, vulnerability, and leadership, and for her widely viewed 2010 TEDx talk, which ranks among the most viewed worldwide, and she hosted two podcasts on Spotify, Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead. She appears in the 2019 documentary Brené Brown: The Call to Courage on Netflix. In 2022, HBO Max released a documentary series based on her book Atlas of the Heart. She has, as of 2021 authored six number-one New York Times bestsellers, including The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, Rising Strong, Braving the Wilderness, Dare to Lead, and Atlas of the Heart. She discussed Daring Greatly with Oprah Winfrey on Super Soul Sunday in March 2013. The book’s title comes from a 1910 Theodore Roosevelt speech, “Citizenship in a Republic”, given at the Sorbonne. Her most recent work, Atlas of the Heart, was published in November 2021, with the goal of helping readers expand their emotional vocabulary, the language they have to communicate their feelings. Brown wrote a chapter of advice in Tim Ferriss’ book Tools of Titans. With Tarana Burke, she co-created You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience, an anthology of essays by Black individuals discussing the trauma of white supremacy as well as the experiences of Black love and Black life.

In 2009 Houston Woman Magazine voted Brown one of the city’s most influential women. She has also received teaching awards, including the Graduate College of Social Work’s Outstanding Faculty Award. In 2016, the Huffington Foundation pledged $2 million over four years to endow a research chair in her name at the Graduate College of Social Work, where she guides the training of social work students in grounded theory methodology and in her research into vulnerability, courage, shame, and empathy. The National Association of Social Workers Foundation awarded her the International Rhoda G. Sarnat Award in 2016, for her work in enhancing public image of the social work profession. In 2021, her podcast Unlocking Us won the iHeartRadio Podcast Award for Best Advice or Inspirational Podcast. In 2022, her book Atlas of the Heart won the Goodreads Choice award for Best Nonfiction. Brown’s core idea is simple but powerful: vulnerability is not weakness, it is the foundation of courage, creativity, and connection. Her work has influenced leadership, education, and personal development worldwide.